House of Human Rights Cultural Centre, Milan, Italy

A rightful design

Wilkinson Eyre Architects' design the House of Human Rights in Milan, Italy

The design for the House of Human Rights Cultural Centre, launched in collaboration with Amnesty International, explores ideas for a new kind of progressive public space; one that encompasses a range of activities from leisure to learning, debate to design, theatre to activism.
A place for multidisciplinary cultural activity, the new cultural centre will also be a focal point within the city for the discussion and promotion of human rights, and for the development of a network of relationships with similar Italian and European centres.
Wilkinson Eyre Architects’ scheme includes an IT resource centre, exhibition spaces, auditorium, conference spaces, offices, a shop and café. The centre will host art exhibitions, lectures, conferences and education programmes for schools, universities and other groups. It will also create opportunities for Amnesty to collaborate with other institutions and organisations on cultural initiatives across a number of fields related to the defence of human rights.
Visitors to the building will experience a startling architectural design that has been conceived as a journey, both physical and imaginative. Entry points in the striking curvilinear façade will lead into a central ramp that spirals through the building’s core. The building’s tree-like geometry has been generated by the Fibonacci sequence . The structure will be created from precast concrete elements, arranged in a delicate, apparently random pattern.
As the site has yet to be chosen, Wilkinson Eyre has created a design that could sit harmoniously within the historic fabric of the city. At present the building is expected to have a footprint of around 5,000 square metres.